We have a backlog of new releases as well as games that some may have missed on recent theme nights…so it will be back to back request nights.

Expect to play from among: Mystic Vale, Knarr, Tangram City, Mille Fiori, A Message From the Stars, Trailblazers, Paint the Roses, Faraway, Courtisans, Letter Jam, Paperback …..and more.

 

Courtisans (led by K-ban) 2024 card game of influence and intrigue where players receive and play three cards on each of their turns. One is played at the Queen’s table to sway a family’s influence, whether in a positive or negative manner. The two other cards are played to a player’s own tableau and one to an opponent’s tableau. Cards in one’s tableau can be worth positive or negative points, depending on their family’s end game status at the Queen’s table. This filler packs a wallop in 30 minutes.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/402283/courtisans

Guns or Treasure (led by Matt) 2023 15-minute filler Pirate game where each player secretly builds their ships by laying down 10 cards. Cards add guns, treasure or a bomb to your ships. The players then take turns marauding other players’ ships or retreating to safety. Marauding is the key to victory, since a successful attack means you score the treasure from both ships, but beware! Their ships may be well-equipped with guns or rigged with a bomb! The player with the most treasure wins.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/357298/guns-or-treasure

Cat Lady (led by Wendy) 2017 drafting and set collection game where players will draft cards three at a time, collecting toys, food, catnip, costumes, and of course lovable cats. But watch out! Make sure you have enough food for all of your feline friends or your hungry cats will subtract points from your score. 

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/228504/cat-lady

Knarr (led by Tim) 2023 race, set collection and drafting card game that was runner-up for Light Game of the Year as voted by BGG users (Thunder Road : Vendetta was the winner).  Players are leaders of a band of Vikings that are sent to new destinations. Manage the recruitment of your crew, and choose the best territories to explore. Depending on the destinations reached (for trading or influence) and the Vikings who accompany you, players can increase their reputation to gain even more wealth. On each turn players either place a new member in their Viking crew, activate the effects of all of them with the same icon, and get another one from those available under the matching color on the central board, or they can explore new destinations, with the opportunity to trade with those places and get more gains or reputation.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/379629/knarr

Faraway (led by K-ban) 2023 runner up Light Game of the Year as voted by BGG users. Players will play square cards as a row of 8 in front of them, from left to right. These cards represent the regions they will come across while exploring the lands. Characters on these cards will grant players victory points, but only score VPs if later cards fulfil the conditions they demand. At the end of the game, players walk back the same way, scoring cards in the opposite order you played them. There lies the heart of the gameplay. Throughout the game, the cards you play will serve both to set new objectives, and to meet the ones you played previously. On each turn, players select one region card from a hand of 3 and a clever priority system governs replenishment drafting. The first play in this 30-minute gem of a filler will likely make your head implode, as you wrap your brain around simultaneouslyng thinking both forward and backward on your journey to score VPs.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/385761/faraway

Point Salad (led by Sean) 2019 family filler card drafting game. Cards come in six different types of veggies, and the back of each card has a different scoring method. So for instance, one scoring method may award 2 points for every carrot you have, but deduct a point for every onion. By drafting combinations of veggies and point cards that work for your strategy, you can amass the most points and win. This game paved the way for the longer, more involved Point City by the same authors. 

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/274960/point-salad

Splendor (led by Wendy) 2014 award winning game of chip-collecting and card development. Players are merchants of the Renaissance trying to buy gem mines, means of transportation, shops—all in order to acquire the most prestige points. If wealthy enough, players might even receive a visit from a noble at some point, which will further increase their prestige. On turn, players may (1) collect chips (gems), or (2) buy and build a card, or (3) reserve one card. If you collect chips, you take either three different kinds of chips or two chips of the same kind. If you buy a card, you pay its price in chips and add it to your playing area. To reserve a card—in order to make sure you get it, or, why not, your opponents don’t get it—you place it in front of you face down for later building; this costs you a round, but you also get gold in the form of a joker chip, which you can use as any gem. All of the cards you buy increase your wealth as they give you a permanent gem bonus for later buys; some of the cards also give you prestige points. In order to win the game, you must reach 15 prestige points before your opponents do. Splendor should be in everyone’s game collection.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/148228/splendor

Trailblazers (led by Tony) 2023 drafting and route building game where players compete to earn the most points by building biking, hiking, and kayaking loops from their campsites of the matching trail type. Each round, players are dealt eight trail cards where they’ll draft two cards, arrange those cards in their personal area, and pass their hand to the next player three times. Cards must either be placed adjacent to or overlapping other cards. While players can push their luck by aiming to construct long and elaborate trails, only closed loops that start and end at a matching campsite will score points. Players also compete to fulfill “First To” and “End Game” goal cards. After four rounds, the game ends and the player with the most points from closed loops and goal cards wins. 

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/352454/trailblazers

Strike (led by Wendy) 2012 push your luck dice game. At the beginning, one die is in the arena. The active player throws another die into the arena. If both dice now show the same number, the player must take them out and end the turn. If not, the player can decide to throw in another die (possibly trying to overturn other dice) or end his/her turn. A die which shows the X face is removed from the game, as is any die which falls out of the arena. A player who holds no more dice is eliminated from the game. The last player who still has dice is the winner.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/123570/strike

Tidal Blades: Heroes of the Reef (led by Matt) 2020 worker placement and drafting game set in a fantasy world where each player takes the role of a young hero competing to be named a Tidal Blade. The tournament takes place over 5 Days and Nights. By gathering the needed resources, signing up to compete in Challenges and timing their arrival at different islands, players can make the most of their Hero’s turns and rise in the ranks of the contestants. Each day players will send their hero to take actions on the different locations and to undertake Challenges. Each action will gain players the resource or effect listed on the action space as well as the location bonus. At the Arenas players may then attempt a Challenge that matches their location, and at the Fold they may battle a monster. Completing Challenges and fighting monsters will advance your character in the four traits of Focus, Spirit, Resilience and Synergy. Each Tidal Blade will be judged at the end of the 5 rounds based on the Challenges they have completed, the level of each of their Traits, their standing on the Champions Board, and the monsters they have fought.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/233262/tidal-blades-heroes-of-the-reef

Mille Fiori (led by K-ban) 2021 Knizia point salad area majority, drafting and influence game set in the world of glass manufacturing and trading. It is really 6 mini-games, each with slightly different rules and ways to earn both VPs and bonuses.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/346501/mille-fiori

A Message From the Stars (led by Sean) 2024 complex deduction game where players take on the roles of brilliant scientists tasked with decoding a series of perplexing satellite transmissions from an alien race. The catch? The messages are incomprehensible, written in an entirely unknown alien language. Using engrossing deduction mechanics, players will collaborate with their fellow scientists to send messages back to the extraterrestrial senders. By exchanging these messages, you hope to unravel the intricate linguistic code that conceals the true intentions of the alien entity. Each interaction yields a numerical value, a piece of the puzzle that you’ll need to solve the riddle of the alien language.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/399987/a-message-from-the-stars